Chica Problema

My family has taken to calling me Chica Problema (Problem Girl), because I am always dealing with some kind physical ailment.  I'm always somewhat sick here (which I'm learning to accept as normal), with occasional bouts of something more severe, and after having what was a cold for over a month, I've come to the conclusion that I have allergies to something here. On Monday I had a dengue scare, due to an unusual fever, which led me to a lab to get several blood tests done (no dengue for me!), and I've recently claimed the title of Neighborhood Klutz, as I am literally falling all the time. I fall on the beach, I fall on the street, I fall into the random holes that are on the sidewalks, I fall onto barbed wire, I fall in the house- I have basically lost the ability to walk at all. Wednesday I fell into one of aforementioned holes, and sliced open my foot, so for the last couple days I've been sporting a fashionable gauze wrap and an enviable limp. Stay tuned to hear how I hurt myself next week!

There's not much to tell in regards to the past week. We decided where our second garden would be, at a local school for kids who have had problems in other schools. Most of them are teenagers but at an elementary school grade level, and the garden would serve as a way for them to be helping the community and learning about the environment. The logistics of the project are still being figured out, and I spent one day this week doing "proformas" (gathering price quotes), and other days filling out paperwork.  The rest of my English classes are going well- I've been gaining a lot more students in my class for younger kids, but these students don't have as much knowledge of English and don't seem that interesting in learning, so it's definitely a challenge getting everyone involved. One of the biggest challenges of my home life that I haven't gotten used to, and don't think I will, is having zero input about when and what I eat. I didn't expect it to be that difficult, and at first it wasn't, but after being here for more than 2 months, it's really hard to be presented a plate of (perfectly fine) food every day, when I genuinely don't want to eat.

Tomorrow I'm headed for Leon for the afternoon to do volcano boarding, which unfortunately didn't happen last week, because the company had some communication issues and did not plan on us coming. At least we'll get a discount! Instead last weekend we spent the day walking around Leon, eating quite a bit, and going to the Myths and Legends museum I mentioned in the last post, which was really interesting! Tomorrow, in the afternoon, after volcano boarding, we'll head to Chinandega to spend the evening there, and then Sunday morning we're off to a beach here in Corinto!


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